Media Center is best experienced using a compatible Media Center remote control. If you don't have a Media Center remote control, you can scroll left or right through your pictures and videos by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen, or by using the left and right arrow buttons on your keyboard.

Click Folders to sort your folders and files alphabetically, click Date taken to sort folders and files by date, or click Tags to sort files by tags that have been applied. (To learn more about tags and how to use them, see Tag pictures so they're easier to find.)

If Media Center is not in full-screen mode, click the Maximize button .

Connect your removable device to your computer. (Cameras and most other removable devices are usually connected to a USB port.)

In the dialog that appears, do one of the following:

Click Import pictures and videos, and then follow the instructions to copy all the pictures and videos on your device to the My Pictures folder on your computer. (To see imported videos in Media Center, you'll need to manually move them to the My Videos or Public Videos folder in Windows Explorer. For more information, see Managing your videos.)

Click View pictures or View videos to access the pictures or videos on the device without copying them to your computer.

Note

If you store media on certain types of removable drives (such as external USB hard drives), you'll need to add them manually to see them in Media Center. To learn how, see Add media files to Windows Media Center.

There are many options for customizing the presentation of your slide shows. You can specify the order in which pictures are shown, the duration of the transitions, and other aspects of a slide show presentation.

Click Folders to sort your folders and files alphabetically, or click Date taken to sort them by date.

Find the video that you want to watch, and then click the video file to play it.

Note

If you can't find the video you're looking for, you might need to tell Media Center where the file is located. For more information, see File types supported by Windows Media Center to make sure Media Center supports the format that you're trying to play.

If an unchanging image stays on the screen for too long, sometimes a faint remnant of the image will stay on the screen even after a new image has replaced it. This is called screen burn. To avoid screen burn during video playback in Media Center, you can change the shade of black that might appear on the left and right or on the top and bottom of your video.